Morris King Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from 1961 to 1991. As a member of the Democratic Party, he was a leading contender for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, but ultimately lost to eventual president Jimmy Carter. Udall was noted by many for his independent and liberal views.
In 1961, Udall won a special election to succeed his brother, Stewart Udall, as the congressman for Arizona's 2nd congressional district. In Congress, Udall became a prominent and popular figure for his independent ways, his leading role in the conservation and environmental protection movements, his key role in reforming Congress and political campaigns, and his pioneering role in opposing the Vietnam War.
Udall sought the Democratic Party nomination in the 1976 presidential election, but was defeated by Carter. He supported Ted Kennedy's strong challenge to Carter in the 1980 Democratic primary, and delivered the keynote address at the 1980 Democratic National Convention.
Udall served as chairman of the House Interior Committee from 1977 to 1991. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1980, he resigned from Congress in 1991 as the effects of the disease worsened. He died in 1998. His son, Mark Udall, represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 2009 to 2015, and his nephew Tom Udall served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 2009 to 2021. Both also served multiple terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Udall was born in 1922 in St. Johns, Arizona, one of six children (New York Times says three sons, two daughters) of Louisa (née Lee) and Levi Stewart Udall. His father was a lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1946 to 1960. His mother was a writer keenly interested in Indian life and culture. His father preached the importance of responsible people entering public service. Udall and his siblings attended local schools in St. Johns.
At age six in 1928, his right eye was cut by a friend's pocket knife while the friend and he were trying to cut some string; he lost the eye because his family lacked the money to get him prompt treatment. Udall wore a glass eye for the rest of his life, and he later indicated that the loss of his eye influenced both his personality and his politics.
He described his early rural/small-town life in the desert as harsh and primitive, in a town where "everybody worked." Noting they had "no tractors," he added, "we had horses and plows."
While in high school, despite the lost eye, Udall was a star athlete in basketball, and in football as quarterback leading an undefeated team. He also marched in the school band, wrote a political column for the school paper, and took the lead in the school play.
Udall attempted to enlist in the Army Air Forces during World War II, and almost succeeded by covering his glass eye each time he was told to alternate during the eye exam. After he was medically cleared, another potential enlistee complained that he had been medically rejected for flat feet, while Udall had passed with one eye. The examiners retested Udall under closer scrutiny, and he was rejected. Later, medical standards changed and Udall served in the Army. He joined the Army Air Forces as a private in 1942 and later received his commission as an officer. He commanded an all-black squadron for two years in Louisiana, an experience of which Udall later said, "That really shaped my life," because he had "fought their fights with them... over local discrimination." Udall later served in the South Pacific and achieved the rank of captain before being discharged in 1946.
Higher education and basketball career
After the war, Udall completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Arizona, where he was a star basketball player (team co-captain), President of the Associated Student Government, and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.
For one year following graduation, Udall played professional basketball with the Denver Nuggets during the 1948–49 National Basketball League season. At the same time, he attended the University of Denver College of Law. He completed his studies at the University of Arizona's law school, where he graduated in 1949 with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
Udall was a tall (6'5"), Lincolnesque figure with a self-deprecating wit and easy manner. Because of his wit, columnist James J. Kilpatrick deemed him "too funny to be president", which also ended up being the title of his autobiography in the 1980s.
He once said that his physical stature and one eye kept him from ever having a date in high school, and led to his use of self-deprecating humor to survive.
Known for his humor, his irreverent and casual style (particularly his colorful western wear and cowboy boots), and his ethics, Udall was summarized by leading political journalist James M. Perry as "funny, smart, down-to-earth, honest, sassy, patient."
Despite being raised Mormon, his spiritual views changed during his later years. He ceased being active in church by the time he returned from military service. While in college, as he read philosophy and history, Udall abandoned his Mormon faith. In particular, he rejected the cultural view among some Church members of the time that black people were "cursed."
In 1949 Udall, with his brother, Stewart, started the law firm of Udall & Udall in Tucson, Arizona, practicing law in Tucson until 1961.
Udall was elected as the Pima County chief deputy attorney (1950–1952) and county attorney (1953–1954). In 1954, he failed in a bid to be nominated for a Superior Court judgeship.